Light Station: Fog Alarm
Recognized Federal Heritage Building
Île-Bicquette, Quebec
Corner view
© Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 1996.
Address :
Bic / Gaspé, Île-Bicquette, Quebec
Recognition Statute:
Treasury Board Policy on Management of Real Property
Designation Date:
1996-09-12
Dates:
-
1908 to 1908
(Construction)
Custodian:
Environment Canada
FHBRO Report Reference:
96-069
DFRP Number:
05469 00
Description of Historic Place
The Fog Alarm is located at the Bicquette Island Light Station on a small rocky promontory above the St. Lawrence River. Built on a raised stone foundation, it is a small, one-and-a-half storey clapboard structure with a shingled gable roof and roof vents. The utilitarian building has a wide door and regularly arranged windows on its façades. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Value
The Fog Alarm is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.
Historical Value
The Fog Alarm is associated with the improvement of light stations on the eastern St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. The creation of the Lighthouse Board in 1904 led to a major program of construction. The Fog Alarm provides an illustration of this period of modernization of marine infrastructure with the adoption of the fog alarm, advanced technology at the time, which was used until the 1970s. At the local level, the building represents the first major technological facility to be introduced at the Bicquette Island Light Station to replace the cannons that were previously used as audible signals.
Architectural Value
The Fog Alarm is valued for its good aesthetic and very good functional design. Its utilitarian character is distinguished from that of a dwelling by the absence of ornamental detail and façade treatment usually found on rural homes. This design was developed to suit its purpose, which was to house all the machinery required to operate the Fog Alarm. The old equipment associated with this building is still in place, giving a clear indication of functional program constraints.
Environmental Value
The Fog Alarm, located adjacent to the lighthouse, reinforces the maritime character of its light station setting on Bicquette Island.
Sources: Paul Trépanier, Quatre bâtiments de la station de phare Ile Bicquette, Québec, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, 96-069; Light Station : Foghorn Shed, Bicquette Island, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 96-069.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Fog Alarm should be respected.
Its good aesthetic and very good functional design, and good craftsmanship and materials, as for example: the strictly utilitarian character of the building as a shelter for the foghorn machinery, and the elements that distinguish it from a dwelling, including the absence of ornamental detail and the façade treatment normally found on rural homes, the single door wide enough to accommodate equipment, and the roof vents; the remaining foghorn machinery, as it attests to the advanced technologies developed in the early 20th century as safety improvements for marine traffic in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf, and because it is evidence of functional program constraints.
The manner in which the Fog Alarm reinforces the maritime character of its light station setting, as evidenced by: its overall design and materials, which harmonize with the nearby lighthouse and natural surroundings on the island; its historical and functional role in association with the other components of the light station, including the lighthouse.
Heritage Character Statement
Disclaimer -
The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.
The foghorn shed at the Bicquette Island Light Station has been designated a 'Recognized' Federal Heritage Building because of its architectural and environmental value and its historical associations.
Historical value
The creation of the Lighthouse Board in 1904 led to a major program of construction and improvement of light stations on the eastern St. Lawrence River and the Gulf. Construction of the foghorn shed on Bicquette Island in 1908 attests to this period of modernization of marine infrastructure with the adoption of the foghorn, advanced technology at the time, which was used until the 1970s. At the local level, the building represents the first major technological facility to be introduced at the Bicquette Island Station to replace the cannons that were previously used as audible signals.
Architectural value
The small storey-and-a-half structure could easily be mistaken for a farmhouse were it not for the fact that it lacks the usual front and back doors, and has no porch or decorative elements of any kind. But the single wide door and roof vents suggest something less familiar. Indeed, its functional design was developed to suit its purpose, which was to house all the machinery required to operate the foghorn. The old equipment associated with this dedicated building is still in place, giving a clear indication of functional program constraints.
Environmental value
The environmental value of the foghorn shed derives from its relationship with its site, a small rocky promontory above the St. Lawrence. The association of the foghorn shed with the lighthouse (the only remaining structures from the earliest days of this light station) and with the other components of the station contribute further to its environmental value.
Character-Defining Elements
The strictly utilitarian character of the building as a shelter for the foghorn machinery, and the elements that distinguish it from a dwelling: the absence of ornamental detail and the façade treatment normally found on rural homes; the single door wide enough to accommodate equipment; and the roof vents.
The remaining foghorn machinery, as it attests to the advanced technologies developed in the early 20th century as safety improvements for marine traffic in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf, and because it is evidence of functional program constraints.
The relationship of the shed with the site, a rock escarpment overlooking the St. Lawrence River, and the distinctive architectural features deriving therefrom, such as the raised foundation conforming to the irregular surface of the site (chosen to place the horn as close to the river and as high as possible for maximum audible range), and the orientation of the gable wall where the horn was mounted in relation to the river.
The historical and functional associations of the foghorn shed with the other components of this light station, particularly the nearby lighthouse.